** Citi views Abacus Storage King ASK.AX as an attractive target for a takeover and sees risk to the upside on a potential merger and acquisition

** Public Storage-led PSA.N consortium in August abandoned its A$2.17 billion ($1.44 billion) takeover offer for the self-storage firm

** Citi says Abacus stock now trading at a 13.8% discount to its net tangible assets (NTA), making a potential transaction closer to NTA more attractive for bidders and shareholders

** Adds Public Storage's previous offer in April and sweetened bid in July signals strong interest in Abacus; recent buyout of rival National Storage REIT shows financial players willing to pay a premium for such self-storage transactions

** Citi also says an internalisation of co's management would simplify its structure and prompt better alignment of management with shareholders, making the business more attractive from a bidder's perspective

** Brokerage rates the stock "neutral", target price A$1.5

** Stock up 32.9% so far this year, as of last close

($1 = 1.5060 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru)

((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))